Celtics at Knicks
The New York Knicks have doubled their victory total over the last seven games and attempt to record another win when they host the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. New York has won five of its last seven games after forward Carmelo Anthony scored 18 of his 31 points in the third quarter of Sunday’s 92-80 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Boston has lost three consecutive games after falling 83-75 to the Miami Heat on Sunday.
Celtics guard Avery Bradley slightly fractured his left thumb against the Heat but doesn’t plan to have the injury force him to miss any games. “It’s been messed up,” Bradley told reporters. “But it’s fine. It’s not my shooting hand so I’ll be OK.” Anthony is averaging 25.9 points over his last seven games and has topped 30 points twice during the stretch.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSN New England (Boston), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE CELTICS (16-30): Forward Jared Sullinger played only 19 minutes in the loss to the Heat after being late to a walkthrough earlier on Sunday. Coach Brad Stevens pulled Sullinger out of the starting lineup and Sullinger didn’t respond off the bench with only seven points on 3-of-11 shooting. It was the second straight subpar outing for Sullinger (14 points, eight rebounds), who is 7-of-25 shooting over the past two games.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (10-38): Coach Derek Fisher knows the recent winning doesn’t change the fact that New York has a lot of building to do to become a contender. He also thinks about Anthony and the commitment he just made to the organization and figures the planning has to factor in his wishes. “I think you owe it to Carmelo to do it the right way, but at the same time he just signed a contract for five years,” Fisher told reporters. “He’s 30 years old. We don’t have 10 years to figure this out.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Knicks have won the last three meetings, including a 101-95 win on Dec. 12.
2. New York is 3-21 on the road with one of the wins coming against the Celtics.
3. Boston F Tayshaun Prince (hip flexor) missed the Miami contest but plans to play against the Knicks.